Chromat designer Becca McCharen-Tran revealed back in February Nordstrom placed a pretty big order of her “future-forward body wear” in sizes up to 3X. Not only is it the first time a retailer has supported Chromat in its curve-inclusive mission, but it’s the first time the label will be producing swimwear up to that size. It’s a pretty big undertaking, and McCharen-Tran told Refinery29 at the time that she was nervous about the launch but had “partnered with a great factory that is experienced in producing curve sizing for other swim global brands.”
Thanks to Chromat’s latest Instagram story, we know that process is underway — and it includes body-positive mannequins. The brand shared the above photo of a dressform from a factory in Sofia, Bulgaria, with its followers, captioning it, “This is where our pattern grading begins.” McCharen-Tran previously explained to us her swimwear was the result of engineering the grading of the product samples based on the curve fit tests Chromat has done over the last five years (technical speak for expanding a size range), and this picture is a sneak peek at what exactly she means. The brand also teased a few different versions of swimwear samples ahead of their Nordstrom debut, which is scheduled for this month or next.
We can’t say we’re surprised about the mannequin, considering Chromat has done the work time and time again to show diversity and inclusivity in a non-tokenizing way. Like we saw during New York Fashion Week, where she presented her fall 2018 collection, McCharen-Tran’s reputation of mass representation is so integral to Chromat's DNA it would seem odd if these suits were made off of anything but a reflection of real life.
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